Free public high school for everyone didn’t happen overnight.
It began gradually with communities and states changing expectations about high school until, eventually, every state offered it for free. Advocates of tuition-free college like to make this point-- that a single state or city won’t be able to change the way people think about how we pay for college and who should attend it.
Cities like Long Beach, Calif., and Detroit, and states like Tennessee and Rhode Island have created tuition-free community college programs. But this year, two of the most populous states in the country -- California and New York -- signed off on free college plans, and their presence in the conversation could have a big impact on efforts to increase access and alter the college-going culture.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/11/01/tuition-free-community-college-programs-gain-exposure-critical-time